The present invention relates generally to the field of magnetic information storage and retrieval, and more particularly to a direction dependent tape head assembly configured to control fly over and skiving based on tape direction.
The amount of data for which backup and retention is required continues to increase. As a result, market demand for higher tape appliance data rates and greater areal density of the tape medium remains high. A current approach addresses this demand through higher density recording by increasing the active channels per tape head, for example, 32, 64, or more active heads. To maintain the quality and integrity of the recorded data as the number of active heads increases, tape head spacing is reduced by, for example, using a smoother tape medium. However, as tape head spacing is reduced, static and running friction between the tape medium and the head surfaces increases, resulting in accelerated wear of the active head surfaces and accelerated buildup of debris on the active surfaces.
Static friction, also known as “stiction,” at the head-tape interface of a tape drive can be a significant issue. The stiction forces for smooth tapes can be sufficiently high such that the longitudinal force needed to free the tape medium from the head may result in damage to the tape. One solution for reducing static friction is by using tape lifters to lift the tape off the heads when tape is not moving. However, this approach increases the cost and complexity of the tape drive assemblies. Another approach is to angle one or more head surfaces such that a tensioned tape will pop off the head surface as the tape comes to rest. However, with conventional integrated head assemblies, such as integrated RWR or WRW head assemblies, it typically is not possible to appropriately angle all the head surfaces due to the small separation between the read transducer array(s) and the write transducer array(s).
A solution for reducing running friction in conventional integrated head assemblies is beveling portions of the edges of the tape bearing surfaces of the tape head modules. This tends to reduce friction by increasing the amount of air entrained by the tape, as well as by not requiring the tape to wrap a skiving edge of the tape bearing surface edges. However, debris tends to accumulate on the beveled portions, and, for conventional head assemblies, portions of the tape head surfaces remain unbeveled, which continue to contribute to friction and are subject to wear for both tape motion directions.